Seibu managed seven hits off of Sugiuchi in 7.2 innings, but four of them came in the sixth and seventh innings, such was his domination in the early innings. It was too bad, then, that he had to end up with a loss. 

There had only been an infield hit in this game before the fourth, when Daiei used a single to left from shortstop Munenori Kawasaki, and one out singles to right by second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and first baseman Nobuhiko Matsunaka to take a 1-0 lead. If you do the math, you know what Daiei would get from there on in. 

In the sixth, the Lions tied it up on a one out double to rightcenter from centerfielder Tomoaki Sato and a two bagger off the rightfield wall by rightfielder Tatsuya Ozeki for the 1-1 deadlock. 

Next time up for Seibu, third baseman Hiroshi Hirao parked a Sugiuchi pitch in the leftfield seats and the Lions had a 2-1 edge. 

Sugiuchi gave up a two out single to right in the eighth to Lions leftfielder Kazuhiro Wada and walked DH Taketoshi Goto. Daiei manager Sadaharu Oh went to the bullpen for Shinji Kurano, who induced a groundout from first baseman Masahide Kaizuka to extinguish the offensive opening.

Matsuzaka struckout the side in the home half and then rookie Kenji Akashi to begin the niinth. Kawasaki walked. One out later, Iguchi singled to right. But Matsunaka grounded a forkball to shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima for the game's final out and Matsuzaka's 70th career shiroboshi. 

Matsuzaka threw 140 pitches in the bullpen Monday endeavoring to shore up his mechanics on the eve of the start against the second place Hawks, working especially on keeping that front side closed. 

But what this game signifies more than anything else is that  three pitchers, Matsuzaka, Sugiuchi and Kurano, who had been hammered recently all came back to deliver fine performances. 

In addition, Kawasaki put a 20 plate appearance hitless skein to rest. 
 

Photo:  Daisuke Matsuzaka Rears Back Tuesday

Tomohiro Kuroki started for Lotte and is still a shell of his former self, as he was taken downtown three times in four innings and needed to throw 96 pitches to do even that much. They should just send him down and let him get in his work there until he is truly ready. 

Lotte went out to a shortlived lead in the first when  third baseman Matt Franco doubled to leftcenter with two gone and leftfielder Benny Agbayani doubled to rightcenter to make it 1-0. 

But in the second, Echevarria homered to center with one away to level it at 1-1.

Nippon Ham would then try to get more in the third when rightfielder Tomochika Tsuboi walked and centerfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo doubled to leftcenter. That would be sabotaged, though, when DH Tomoyuki Oda flew to center and first baseman Fernando Seguignol popped to short. 

Lotte had two on and one out in the top of the fourth, but that was squandered due to a popup and a groundout.

In the bottom of that inning, Echevarria blasted a shot over the centerfield wall. One out later, Takahashi imitated that feat and it was 3-1 Fighters.

Lotte had two men on in both the fifth and sixth, but those came with two out and nobody delivered the big knock. In the bottom of the stanza,
Takahashi went the opposite way against Koji Takagi and sent it into the rightfield stands for a 4-1 advantage. 

Lotte had one last gasp in the ninth and like they have been all season, it fell just short. Centerfielder Jun Inoue walked against Michiya Yokoyama and first baseman Kazuya Fukuura singled to center. Franco walked to load the bases. Agbayani singled to center for an RBI. Third baseman Kiyoshi Hatsushiba also singled to center to hail Fukuura in. Catcher Tasuku Hashimoto grounded to shortstop Makoto Kaneko, who went to the plate for a force. Rightfielder Saburo Omura grounded into a 6-4-3 double play for a 4-3 final. 

Oshimoto, a fourth round draft choice, was clocked at 89mph. He also features a changeup, curve and forkball and kept them all down
consistently.

Manager Bobby Valentine was livid after the game. He assembled the members of the team and scolded them loudly, especially lamenting 
the nine homers that his pitching staff has served up in the last two games. 

Kato kept his team in the game for seven innings, but Motoyuki Akahori and Shogo Yamamoto were beaten to a pulp for seven runs between them in the eighth and that put it on ice for Orix. Kato was clocked at 91mph. 

Jose Ortiz provided the Blue Wave with the only run they would need when he hatcheted a Kato offering into the rightfield seats to make it 1-0 in the second. 

In the fourth, Brown dropped a bomb into the centerfield bleachers and it was 2-0.

They tacked on more in the sixth when second baseman Koichi Oshima walked and leftfielder Yoshitomo Tani doubled into the leftfield corner. Brown grounded to first and Oshima scampered across to improve the lead to 3-0.

The floodgates opened upon Akahori's entrance, as Tani and Brown walked with two outs and Ortiz singled to left to push Tani across. Shortstop Mitsutaka Goto walked to pack the sacks. Hidemitsu Saito cannonaded a shot up the rightcenter gap and everybody travelled home on the triple. Catcher Takeshi Hidaka thunked one off the rightfield wall and legged it into a triple and an 8-0 advantage.

Phillips pitched out of a two on, nobody out jam in the eighth to finish his night. 

Orix then went back on the offensive in the ninth, as centerfielder Arihito Muramatsu singled to right and was subsequently out on a forceout off the bat of DH Takeshi Yamasaki. One out later, Manabu Satake doubled off the rightfield wall. Brown doubled to leftcenter for 
his final two RBIs of the night and the 10-0 margin of victory. 

Orix as a team is batting .309. Brown is only one off the Pacific League RBI lead with 34 and is batting .316. So go to Kobe Green Stadium, At least you'll see the team score even if they don't have the pitching to contend.